Compassionate Living Through Mindfulness Meditation
A practical guide to mindfulness – based compassion, an evolving series, explores the science behind compassion through an easy-to-follow and comprehensive way, one that will surely appeal to both practitioners and clients, regardless of their background or style. Authorneled by Dr. Michael J. Fabiano, this book synthesizes information on compassion, mindfulness and other related topics, including: The Science of Getting Organized; Mindfulness Works; and Creative Thinking – Improve Your IQ & Creativity. With its focus on mindfulness, this practical guide to compassion incorporates findings on oxytocin, endorphins and the physiology and pathophysiology of stress. It then links these concepts with a comprehensive description of the science of “mindfulness,” which it claims is based on four basic assumptions:
According to Fabiano, mindfulness practice is about learning to observe others as they are, without judgment or comparison, and learning to share and participate rather than compete. He further contends that true harmony cannot be achieved without addressing both the inner and outer fronts: the physical and psychological aspects of a person. A good example is when you cook a meal, you’re not only focusing on the ingredients but also the person who cooks them, the surroundings and the people around you, the menu in general, and so on. Likewise, with true compassion, you are not only interacting with the present moment; you are interacting with the past, future and beyond. The goal therefore, is not only to survive, but to thrive, grow and excel in every way possible.
The Practical Guide to Mindfulness – Based Compassionate Living provides a practical insight into how you can start compassionately dealing with yourself, your emotions and your environment. Through a series of guided meditation and imagery exercises, the Easy Way to Self-Compassion teaches you to de-stress through centering your mind, tapping into your innate calmness and wisdom. By training your mind to address both the inner and outer factors in your life – and to then take action to transform these factors, you can create a soothing system for your emotions and inner being. You can then use this soothing system throughout the week, creating a well-grounded foundation upon which to nurture and protect your physical body, while also nurturing your mind and spirit.
What makes the Easy Way to Self-Compassion really work is its underlying metaphor. When you listen to the CD, you are taking an honest, quiet, mindful look at your own behavior and attitude toward others, yourself, and the world at large. You are gently coaxing yourself to notice how your words, your actions and your responses to other people reflect upon the state of your inner being. By watching your thoughts, attitudes and behaviors, you get a better understanding of how you are feeling about yourself, others and the world in general. This in turn inspires you to create a more compassionate mindset for yourself and for others.
In our daily life, we are constantly bombarded with things to be grateful for, things to feel proud of, and to react to with excitement or fear. All of these actions and reactions originate from our mind and emotions, which in turn creates a feedback loop for our lives. Thoughts, attitudes and responses all feed off each other in a never ending process. The goal with this type of meditation is to cultivate a more mindful awareness of your own thoughts and responses, as well as to cultivate the mindfulness-based awareness that will assist you in your daily life.
A great place to begin your journey toward building compassion and kindness is with a daily heartfulness practice. Simply breathing in a slow, deep manner for five minutes, every day, can serve as a wonderful, gentle beginning to the Easy Way to Self-Compassion. It will help you develop a more relaxed awareness, which will encourage and deepen your ability to cultivate self-awareness and wisdom. Once you have learned to breathe deeply and cultivate mindfulness, you will then be ready to delve into the deeper levels of this heartfulness practice.
This content is contributed by Guestomatic
